As a RIDART volunteer you have committed to assist in disaster and emergency situations when local resources have been exhausted. It is your priority to first safeguard your own pet(s) before deploying for RIDART. If you have not created a preparedness plan for your home, follow the link to the Humane Society of the United States Disaster Preparedness for Pets to do so.

Appropriate equipment and supplies for pre- and post-disaster sheltering and rescue of horses and farm livestock.

Provide emergency medical care to animals injured in a disaster or provide emergency transportation to a veterinary clinic for treatment.

Assist recovery efforts involving both living and dead animals.

Release information to the general public through responsible spokespersons from the designated agencies, regarding such issues as quarantine areas, rabies alert, public service information announcements, etc.

Our goal as the Rhode Island Disaster Animal Response Team is to “provide quality response and recovery to our animals in emergency situations.” We are a volunteer based team that provides its volunteers with multiple training opportunities annually and offers certification in various skills and levels of training for disaster response free of charge.

The documentary Mine portrays the innate bond between humans and their animals challenged by one of the worst disasters in modern U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina. This powerful and emotional video stresses the severe importance of disaster preparedness and first responder training for all DART members.

If you have leadership skills, on the application please mention your interest in volunteering for a Shelter Management Team.

Training

Only a little screening, coordination, and specialized training are required. In particular, all volunteers must gain certification in ICS and NIMS (the Incident Command and National Incident Management Systems).

The US government makes that certification available for free through on-line independent study. The courses are called "Introduction to ICS" (IS-100) and "Introduction to NIMS" (IS-700). To get started, just click on IS-100 andIS-700 here.

Many more Independent Study courses that are free and provide certificates can be found on-line at http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp. RIDART also sponsors training events throughout the year. These opportunities are posted on the calendar to the left, as soon as details are available.

AVMF Disaster Training SponsorshipAVMF Training-8.16.2011

Dr. Marshall introducing volunteers to the emergency supplies on the trailors.